


The Incident

by 6am, rainstar19964



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, Misunderstandings, background ships in notes, koga dun goofed very bad, non-explicit descriptions of injuries
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-08
Updated: 2017-11-17
Packaged: 2019-01-31 03:10:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 15,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12667035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/6am/pseuds/6am, https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainstar19964/pseuds/rainstar19964
Summary: After a lapse in control while being (righteously) pissed off at Kaoru, Koga messes up wonderfully.(Or, the "oh god I broke my crush's nose" fic)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rixsig-writes (rixsig)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rixsig/gifts).



> HAPPY (very belated) BIRTHDAY RIX!!!!! my angel in indulgence and a goddess among us
> 
> she wanted mikogs so im trying to deliver lol. a HUGE shoutout to ryan for coming up with the plot and a lot of dialogue and being my editing eyes and being an angel in general. check both of them out on twitter @rixsig_writes and @gaysakuma, they're cool dudes
> 
> and if you want to see terrible meme art and want to holler about mika ships w me im on twitter @its_6_am! come hang out w us
> 
> background ships that are mentioned this chapter: kaoshu, ritsumao

Koga is running on around 3 hours of sleep, and he's not happy about it.

 

It had stormed all of last night, and he had been more than prepared to put up with Leon being fussy and trying to burrow deeper under his duvet with each clap of thunder, but he's more than feeling the toll of such a restless night the next morning. Leon is sprawled on his back halfway on Koga's chest when he stirs for the fifth time in the last few hours. The sunlight is harsh where it peeks through his blinds that he had neglected to fully close yesterday, and he squints in the light for a few moments before his heart thumps wildly in his chest.

 

He's going to be late.

 

Leon groans when Koga carefully pushes him off of his chest so he can fly out of bed and rush towards his closet, tripping several times as he shoves his pants on and he nearly strangles himself with his shirt and tie in the process. He’s stumbling to get socks on his feet when his phone starts blaring its alarm, and Koga isn’t sure if he wants to howl with relief or rage. He isn’t late at all, and he’d been rushing for the past ten minutes when he could have been getting some much needed sleep before his first morning alarm was going to go off.

 

Koga tilts his head back and groans as loudly as he can at the ceiling, and Leon doesn't even flinch. Instead, his corgi rolls onto his back and stretches his stubby legs into the air with a whiny groan. But even Leon's morning routine of sleepily blinking at Koga with one of his ears flipped inside out does nothing for his sour mood, and Koga scrubs his hands down his face with a sigh.

 

This is going to  _ suck. _

 

-

 

On this day, despite his good deeds the night before- and all throughout his life thank you very much- the world is out to get Koga. He's convinced.

 

He had burned his hand on his breakfast-  _ whole wheat  _ shitty toaster waffles instead of something normal like a blueberry waffle, damn you Mom, trying to put healthy things in the care packages she sends him- and there hadn't been any honey left for him to make the hellish meal even remotely edible. Syrup was out of the question, with a smell that would stick somewhere on Koga and give him a headache throughout the day without a doubt. He was in desperate need of a trip to the grocery store and he adds that to his mental list while cursing the waffles in his toaster.

 

Then, as he was powering through the cardboard flavored waffle while taking Leon out to use the bathroom, he had been so absorbed in trying to force the final bite down his throat he hadn't realized how close to Leon he had been standing until he could feel something warm and wet soaking into the bottom of his uniform pants. There wasn't even any way he could be  _ mad _ at Leon, because his stupid ass had been the one to stand too close and not realize he was in Leon's line of fire while he relieved himself, and Koga had to give him his usual  _ good boy, good boy _ because he'd rather deal with digging through his dresser for his backup pants instead of potentially telling his dog not to pee outside.

 

However, Leon does not receive his morning belly rub in retaliation... well, that's a lie, Koga could never deny Leon's pitiful face, but his goodbyes were lackluster compared to usual. He only feels a little guilty about not giving his customary farewell high-five and kiss to the nose. The universe seems to be more than willing to let his slights go unforgiven, though, and his subway pass takes seven swipes before it lets him through and he nearly misses it, then ends up crammed between two very smelly old people, and the young children across from him are wailing about not wanting to go to class.

 

After a painfully long ride and an even more painful headache induced by the overly floral scent of two old ladies, Koga trudges into school and up the stairs to class. 2B is slightly less chatty than usual when Koga finally enters the classroom. Mao is looking like he’s on his last legs of trying to get Ritsu to sit upright in his seat, but Ritsu seems to be slightly more alert than he usually is in the mornings, he even offers Koga a twiddle of his fingers before returning to his conversation with Mao. Koga only offers him a slightly less powerful glare in return, and Mao raises an eyebrow at him but brushes it off when Ritsu starts tugging on his arm to let him use it as a pillow.

 

Mika is out of his assigned seat, in the desk behind Koga’s, hunched over some kind of sewing project. It looks like some kind of furry monstrosity, but the more refined parts of the piece look like something from Akatsuki. Or maybe it's another rescue mission from the trash, Koga isn't sure. Whatever it is, he's deeply engrossed in it, only moving his hand to stitch and occasionally shaking his head when his bangs fall in his face too much.

 

Arashi and Yuzuru are huddled around Arashi’s desk discussing their answers on the homework that Koga suddenly realizes he only has half finished, and there’s maybe ten minutes left before class starts. Not enough time to actually get anything done. He grits his teeth and throws his bag down next to his chair before he flops down sideways into it with a huff.

 

“Mm?” Mika lifts his head, looking slightly startled at the sound but he smiles around the pins in his mouth when he realizes who it is. “G’mornif Kog-un.”

 

“Horseshit.” 

 

Mika pulls the pins from where he’s holding them in his mouth. “Not a good mornin’ then, I guess.” Mika pats around on the fabric of the shirt, then pulls out a small pair of scissors to snip the thread connected to the spot he’d been attaching little embellishments to. “S’matter, Koga-kun?”

 

“The storm kept Leon up all night.” Koga leans his elbow on the desk Mika sits in, careful not to push on the canned coffee sitting on the corner of it. “N’then I couldn’t sleep when the rain finally stopped, and Hakaze keeps ignoring my fuckin’ texts.”

 

“Ah.” Yuzuru leans to the side, raising his hand slightly. “Language, Oogami-sama. Sensei has a few strikes on you already, I wouldn’t want you to miss class.”

 

The way Yuzuru barely reacts to Koga sneering at him only makes Koga more angry. “Eat shit,” he growls, and Yuzuru just sighs and goes back to rewriting an answer on his homework.

 

“Ohoho~” Arashi is even more infuriating, holding his hand over his mouth like he’s cute or something. “So  _ fiesty _ today, Koga-chan. Maybe give him a treat to calm him down, Mika-chan?” He laughs genuinely this time when Koga simply gives him the finger before he turns back to Mika to ignore everyone else.

 

Mika is bent at the waist, though, digging through his bag. “Actually,” he sits up straight, holding out a can of coffee to Koga. “Ya can have this, if you want. The machine gave me two when I got mine earlier. I can’t drink both, s’real bad for my anxiety. If you’re tired some coffee won’t hurt.”

 

Koga glares at the can, but Mika is still offering it to him. “Yeah, whatever.” He takes it, and it’s still warm from the machine. “Thanks.” Mika’s smile grows wider, but he startles when he catches sight of the clock and hurries to pack up his projects before class officially starts and he can be called out by the teacher for breaking the seating arrangements.

 

The coffee is even warmer when Koga takes his first drink, and it’s thankfully not black- he’s tired of trying to drink his coffee black to keep up appearances around Rei and Kaoru. It’s just sweet enough, and he almost feels a little better about his terrible morning.

 

Everyone falls silent quickly when their teacher walks in, shuffling their homework together when he calls for it to be passed up to the front even though he had  _ just  _ gotten through the damn door. Koga’s caffeine induced relief slips right out of his grasp, and he digs around in his bag for his half completed assignment after taking the paper Mika hands over Koga's shoulder- better to hand in something than nothing, probably.

 

“Assigned seating, Kagehira.” Their teacher doesn’t even look away from where he's unloading his supplies onto the desk and Mika doesn't even grab his bag from where it's sitting underneath the desk next to him as his quickly jumps into his assigned desk. The teacher takes the homework up from Mao once they're all passed in, thumbing back the corners to take the count before he sets them in the small tray on the corner of his desk.

 

Mao starts to drone on with the morning announcements not even a full minute later, and Koga easily tunes him out and pulls his phone from his pocket. He's far enough in the back that no one really cares, and it's not like he's the first one to pull out his phone and use it during class. The announcements aren't even important, just reminders for upcoming Lives, reminders for pay being due soon for units, what the cafeteria is serving today- typical nonsense. Koga opens up his inbox and glares at the texts he had sent to Kaoru that are still unanswered. His thumbs fly over the screen as he types out another round of messages.

  
  


**To: Hakaze**

**Subject: ????????**

**jfc where are you**

**ive been trying to get a hold of you for 45 min?????**

**youre still online on Line asshole I know ur there**

  
  


Koga sets his phone on his desk, watching the screen as he waits for the little bubble that shows him that Kaoru is actually going to reply to him, but the messaging app stays annoyingly silent no matter how hard Koga glares at it. He crosses his arms over his chest and tries to pay attention to the lecture he's already missed the introduction of, and the notes that are currently being scrawled up on the board don't make any sense to him. Koga decides he might as well pretend to be a good student to keep the teacher off his ass for turning in unfinished work, and digs around in his bag for his notebook. He plops it onto his desk and flips it open to a blank page when he notices that the pencil he's been keeping since the start of the semester isn't in the spiral anymore, and must have fallen into his bag.

 

With some very necessary grumbling, Koga pats around the inside of his bag for the escapee, and curses loudly enough that Yuzuru throws him another look over his shoulder before he goes back to dutifully taking notes. The only thing Koga can find in his bag is a rather impressive collection of lint and a few scrapped scores that Rei had given him as practice material to keep him on his toes. Koga sighs heavily through his nose, slouching in his chair. Arashi snorts, and Koga flicks the bit of lint that he had collected instead of his pencil onto his desk. Arashi, the bastard, doesn't even notice, and goes back to taking a few notes in between rapid fire text messages. 

 

“'ey, Ritchii.” Ritsu blinks slowly, chin resting heavily in his hand as he turns his attention toward Koga. “You got a spare pencil or anything?”

 

Ritsu hums, looking down at his bag where it lays at his feet. “Backpack is too far away,” he says. “Sorry, Corgi, you should have come to class prepared.”

 

Seriously? Koga clicks his tongue, but Ritsu just closes his eyes and is probably fast asleep already. Mao's shoulders stiffen and he whips around to glare at Koga, his expression telling him to shut his mouth and that he also doesn't have something for Koga to write with. At least Mao looks somewhat apologetic about it. Koga drums his fingers on his desk, and he turns to Mika to ask him the same question, but Mika's already thumbing through the tattered pencil bag he had finished in the middle of class sometime last week. He slumps a bit, offering Koga a sheepish smile and a mouthed apology when he also seems to be down to his last pencil.

 

_ Fuck this earth,  _ Koga thinks, resigning to his life of being without a writing utensil in a class where the teacher likes to hound on his students for not taking notes. Maybe if he tells him about his dog peeing on his leg this morning he'll get some slack.

 

The lecture continues to drone on, and Koga is getting more and more pissed off as it goes. The clock is ticking by much too slowly, and any notifications that light up his phone are not from Kaoru. He keeps getting  _ looks  _ from the teacher, even though Arashi has abandoned the facade of taking notes and is just on his phone completely and Ritsu doesn't even have anything on his desk besides his head. Koga tries his hardest to fake that he's paying attention, raising his eyebrows at random intervals in the hopes that maybe he looks surprised by new information on... whatever this lecture is about. He isn't sure, honestly.

 

His phone buzzes quietly against his desk, and Koga nearly ignores it until he sees Kaoru's contact information next to the inbox pop-up. He quickly taps in his code to unlock the phone and read the message. Against his better judgment Koga hopes to read something where Kaoru is groveling, apologizing for being an asshole and skipping practice and acting like it's no big deal.

 

**From: Hakaze**

**Subject:** ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

**nah man im hiding in the marine bio room**

**im tiiiiiired the ladies love me too much, wan-chan~**

**and kanata-kun is covering for me www**

  
  


You've got to be fucking kidding. Koga's phone brightens up again, and Kaoru even has the  _ nerve _ to send a picture of himself. He's laying on the floor in the Marine Biology clubroom, his blazer pillowing his head while he grins at the camera, flashing a peace sign. Koga can see directly up Kanata's nose where he's leaning over Kaoru to look at the phone, or maybe to tell Kaoru to get off his ass and do something; Koga hopes it's the latter.

  
  


**To: Hakaze**

**Subject: fuck you**

**im gonna kick your shit in**

  
  


Uncaring for the lecture going on, Koga growls and slams his phone down on the desk, nearly knocking over the half empty can of coffee with the impact. He stands upright quickly, clenching his fists and delivering the most powerful kick he can muster to his chair when it doesn't scoot all the way back for him just from him standing upright. The chair skids loudly across the floor for maybe half a second before it topples over, and the only thing that cuts through Koga's righteous fury towards Kaoru and his  _ stupid goddamn  _ why is Mika bleeding all over the floor.

 

The sound of the chair scraping on the floor and the yelp from Mika has everyone's attention, and Koga is too shocked to do anything but just... stare at Mika while he holds a hand over his nose that's currently dripping an impressive amount of blood all over the white floors.

 

“A-ah.” Mika winces, and Koga continues to stare in horror as Mika slowly takes his hand away from his face and Koga can see a bruise already starting to blossom right across the bridge of Mika's nose, the deep looking cut trickling blood at a steady pace..

 

“Mika-chan..!” Arashi stands up from his seat, eyes wide in horror. Mika stares at the spot on the floor where his blood is starting to pool, and then at the blood dribbling down his hand. Slowly, his gaze turns up towards Koga, and he claps his hand over his face again.

 

“I g-gotta, uhm. 'Scuse me.” Mika squeezes his eyes shut, scrambling to his feet and bolting out the door. Koga turns to watch him run out, too shocked to try and call out to him that it was an accident, that he absolutely had not meant to do this on purpose.

 

Arashi hip checks him hard when he walks past him to grab Mika's bag from the desk behind him, the look he gives Koga is enough to make Koga's breath catch in his throat for a moment. “Dick.” Arashi growls under his breath, then he jogs out the still open door as the teacher tells him to “go, go, I'll write you a pass later.” Yuzuru also springs up, looking a little panicked as he nearly runs to one of the cabinets at the back of the class to grab some cleaning supplies.

 

The teacher turns his gaze to Koga, level and frighteningly stoic. “See me after class, Oogami.” Koga swallows, but dips his head after a slow nod. He thinks about maybe offering to help Yuzuru clean or something, but he's already gotten most of the blood and is currently scrubbing the floor back to its pristine white color with some disinfectant wipes. It feels even worse when Koga bends to pick up his chair and Yuzuru very quickly backs away from him, and he can tell by the look on his face that it doesn't have anything to do with the bloody paper towels and wipes he's holding in his gloved hands.

 

Despite the commotion, their teacher continues the lecture after reassurance that he'll be going to the infirmary after class and making sure that Mika is alright and that he'll report back as quickly as possible. Koga doesn't even try to pay attention anymore, putting his face in his hands with his elbows on his desk to marinate in his shame with some illusion of not being in the middle of the classroom where he can feel everyone staring at him.

 

This  _ blows. _

-

 

Jin lets out a low whistle, his fingers gentle where they rest under Mika's chin, guiding him to turn his head from side to side slowly. “That's definitely broken.” He takes his hand away, shaking his head. “What happened? You're not one to get in fights, Kagehira.”

 

“A chair was thrown in his face.” Arashi glowers, arms crossed tight over his chest and his foot wagging slowly in the air as he sits with one leg crossed over the other beside Mika. “Koga-chan lost it in class and decided Mika-chan was a good target.”

 

Mika sniffs and folds his hands in his lap, pulling the sleeves of his sweater entirely over his hands. He wants to disagree, he's sure that Koga didn't entirely know that Mika had been leaning across the aisle to grab his bag from underneath the other desk at just the right time for the chair to slam into his face, and Koga had been in such a bad mood... but he had never been this angry toward Mika before.

 

Jin pulls a few more tissues from the box on the bedside table, handing them to Mika so he can wipe the last bits of blood just under his nose. “Well, it's not too bad, I've seen worse. But I have to set it back so it doesn't go crooked.” He holds out a trash can for Mika to toss the tissues in once he's done cleaning his face, and he plucks some gloves from the box he had brought over after getting Mika settled. “This won't feel good, you can ice it and take some painkillers once I get it right. You should go back home, Kagehira, you won't catch any flack for taking a few days off.”

 

“... 'kay.” Mika mumbles, lifting his head when he hears the snap of the gloves being pulled onto Jin's hands. His nose throbs faintly when Jin braces his fingers on either side, and he blindly flails one hand for Arashi's as Jin counts down from three slowly. Arashi squeezes his hand tightly, wincing at the soft crack and the much louder yelp from Mika when Jin presses his fingers to set the slight crook straight again.

 

Jin takes his hands away quickly. “Done, done, all done.” He surveys his work, tilting his head and humming before he gently pats Mika on the shoulder. “There. It's gonna be swollen for a while, and you're gonna bruise, but just don't touch it or anything.” Mika hiccups in response, nodding and quickly wiping at his cheeks with his free hand to catch the few tears that are falling from his eyes. Jin sighs, pulling his gloves off and tossing them into the trash. “I'll get you an ice pack and some painkillers.” Jin pauses with his hands poised to grab another tissue from the box on the table, but he decides it would be more sensible to just hand the entire thing over, and he sets it next to Mika’s thigh. “I know it hurts, but try not to cry too much, Kagehira. The pressure is going to make it worse.”

 

He pulls the curtain divider partially closed before walking away, and Arashi strokes his thumb over the back of Mika's hand with a frown. “Mika-chan...” Arashi gives his hand one more squeeze before he unlaces their fingers.  Arashi uncrosses his legs so he can bend one up onto the bed, scooting closer to Mika. “I’ll walk you home whenever you want, but I'll stay here until you're ready to go.”  He plucks one of the tissues from the box Jin had put on the bed, handing it over. Mika continues to sniff, wiping carefully under his nose. Arashi sighs, tilting his head to try and get a better look at Mika’s face.

 

“Dunno what I did,” Mika says quietly, dabbing at the blood on his sleeve but he gives up when nothing comes off on the tissue. “I don’t want anyone to be mad at me… ‘specially Koga-kun.”  He tugs the sleeves of his sweater farther over his hands, hiding them almost completely. “I know he was in a bad mood,  but I didn’t think it was so bad he woulda gotten up like that.” Mika waivers, the pain still thrumming through his face and the anxiety brewing over the situation bringing up a fresh wave of tears. “What if he’s real mad at me Naru-chan?”

 

Arashi purses his lips, not used to watching Mika cry at all. “Do you want me to rub your back?” He offers, and shushes Mika quietly when he nods and leans into Arashi's side. “It'll be okay, Mika-chan,” he says. “I'll talk to him, and he's  _ going  _ to apologize to you, and he's going to mean it.”

 

“Don't be mean t'him, Naru-chan, I don't think he really did it on purpose, even if he’s mad at me.” Arashi starts curling his fingers gently through the longer hair at the back of Mika’s neck, and he snuggles deeper into Arashi’s side as he relinquishes to the petting. “He didn’t even throw the chair, he just-”

 

The sound of brisk footsteps and the curtain being thrown open cuts Mika off, and he squawks at the sudden intrusion when Shu makes his appearance. His cheeks are just slightly flushed, and Mika wouldn’t be surprised if he had ran all the way here from his class. Shu doesn’t even have Mademoiselle tucked into the crook of his arm, and he doesn’t acknowledge Arashi either as he places a hand over his chest, jaw hanging slack. 

 

“Oh good  _ heavens _ \-- _! _ ” He shrieks, balking for a few seconds before he steps closer to where Mika is still huddled into Arashi. “Let me see, good  _ lord _ what has been done to your beautiful  _ face?! _ ”

 

“Koga-chan happened.” Arashi huffs, keeping his arm protectively around Mika even as Shu grabs gently for Mika’s chin and tilts his head this way and that to inspect the damage. “He broke his nose.”

 

Shu looks even more distraught than before, eyes wide as he looks at the heavy bruising that’s spreading around the inner corners of Mika’s eyes. “Oh I am going to eviscerate that mutt, mark my words.” Shu swears under his breath. “Assaulting my doll, he needs to be hung this instant.”

 

“Nnn, Oshi-san, that’s a lil-”

 

“Hush, boy. You have broken bones, for christ's sake.”

 

“Aye-- okay, Oshi-san.” Mika corrects himself, letting Shu poke and prod while Arashi keeps petting him. Softer footsteps come from behind Shu, and Jin surveys the scene with a raised eyebrow, carrying an ice pack and a small bottle of pills in his hands. 

 

“I guess I gotta write you a pass too, huh, Itsuki.” He shrugs, handing over the ice pack before he twists the cap off of the bottle. “I’ll get into trouble if all of you ditch class, someone just take Kagehira home without causing me any grief, please.”

 

Mika takes the ice pack with a grimace, fingertips already feeling numb from the cold. Shu finally leans out of his face, crossing his arms over his chest. “Is he going to scar? How long before he’s back in commission? His face is vital to his career, I simply will not stand for that  _ mutt _ ruining my hard work.”

 

“It’s not like you  _ made  _ him, Itsuki.” Arashi huffs, but settles for his most potent stink-eye when Mika gives him a nudge with his foot. 

 

“The cut isn’t bad, so I don’t think it’ll scar.” Jin hands Mika two small pills after shaking them out from the bottle, and he turns to take one of the small paper cups from the water cooler so he can fill it. “Just let him rest, don’t touch it or make it worse or anything. It’ll heal on its own, the swelling is going to be the worst part.”

 

Shu looks like he might faint, but he calms the shaking in his knees with a deep breath. “Fine. He’s going to be out of class until it’s healed, I trust that even you could retrieve the homework for him, Narukami.”

 

Arashi’s petting picks up speed, but at least the friction gives Mika some kind of warmth to fight off the chill of the ice on his face. “Gee, thanks, Itsuki. I can tell you have some real faith in me.”

 

“Don’t fiiiiiight.” Mika groans, looking up at the two woefully before taking a sip of the water and slipping the painkillers into his mouth. “I’m beggin’ y’all.” Shu and Arashi glare at each other for a few moments, and they both give up with a huff. 

 

“Fine. Take him home, I left in the middle of a test and I’ll die if Tenshouin is finished before I return.” Shu turns on his heel without another word, not even pausing when Jin tries to stop him so he can write him a hall pass. 

 

“Does he actually think he can finish a test before someone if he left in the middle of it?” Arashi shakes his head, but gives up the goat for Mika’s sake. “Are you gonna be okay if I go back to get your bag? I don’t want to leave you here by yourself.”

 

Mika nods, waving Arashi off with his free hand while the other holds the icepack. “I’ll be fine, Naru-chan, y’can just go back to class.” Mika kicks his shoes off, sweeping them a little under the bed with his foot so they aren’t laying out in the middle of the room. “‘M just gonna take a nap or somethin’, wake m’up at lunch so I can go home.”

 

He hands over the ice pack when Arashi holds his hand out for it, rubbing his sleeve-covered hands together to try and get some warmth back into his chilly fingers. “Are you sure? I can stay as long as you want me to, Mika-chan.” Arashi offers, but Mika just shakes his head. “Do you want extra pillows? Hmm, I can steal the blankets from the other beds, Sagami-sensei probably has extras if anyone else comes in.” He gives Mika a squeeze before getting up to strip the other two beds of their top blankets, wadding them up in his arms while Mika makes himself comfortable. 

 

Mika allows himself to be tucked in, indulging in Arashi’s fussing and the warmth of the extra blankets tucked around him. “I’ll bring you lunch, too, okay? Get some sleep, Mika-chan.” Arashi leans down to press a smacker of a kiss to the top of Mika’s head, and then a few more when Mika wiggles and tries to escape the extra affection. The onslaught stops when Mika turns his head further to hide his face completely in the pillow. “Your nose! Don’t stuff your face in the pillow!” Arashi yelps, pulling at Mika’s shoulder. “Sorry, sorry! Sorry for blessing you with my kisses!”

 

“I won’t, I woooooonn’t,” Mika swats blindly at Arashi’s hands as he rolls onto his side, giggling despite the dull sting that blooms through his nose. “Just go to class already, I promise I won’t break it more.”

 

Seeing Mika smile puts Arashi at just a little more ease, and he pats at a lump that’s probably Mika’s shoulder under the blankets. “I will, I will, don’t worry about anything, okay? Onee-chan has your back.” Arashi blows one more kiss before pulling the curtain all the way closed, and Mika settles into his nest of blankets with a sigh. 

 

He really hopes that Arashi won’t try to fight Koga-- he  _ really _ hopes that Shu doesn’t try to do anything, Shu has very different limits than Arashi. How did he even know that Mika had gotten hurt? Arashi had been in a group message with the rest of his unit in class, Mika had seen the onslaught of texts and memes over Arashi’s shoulder when he had been looking up at the board to make sure he was really understanding what the teacher had been going on about. Did he tell all of them..? Mika groans, rolling onto his back and pulling the blankets up to his nose. Ah, maybe he shouldn’t, would blankets really hurt more? Regardless, he tucks the hems of the blankets under his chin instead, staring up at the ceiling tiles. 

 

Even if Koga somehow did mean to hit him on purpose, Mika really doesn’t want anyone to fight him, especially if it’s on his behalf. There’s no way that he really did it on purpose, right? Mika had just been reaching down for his bag after he remembered that he had a few extra pencils in there when Koga needed one, and then Koga… kicked the chair back. But Koga didn’t even see him..? Or maybe he did, maybe he could smell Mika. Does he smell bad? Koga always gripes about things that smell too strongly of anything. Maybe Mika’s deodorant is too much and Koga got so overwhelmed by the smell when Mika had reached for his bag and then he just had to kick the chair and… and….

 

Mika whines, his mind unhelpfully swimming with reasons why Koga would, in fact, kick a chair into his face. Broken nose be damned, Mika pulls the blankets completely over his face, giving up on his nap in favor of laying down to think too hard about the situation. 

 

This  _ sucks. _

 

-

 

Everyone shuffles out of class quickly once class ends, eager to leave Koga to get chewed out by the teacher. Arashi had come back for Mika’s bag about halfway through, glaring daggers at Koga during his short trip. He keeps up the look even when he comes back to class completely, settling in his desk with a huff and an icy look over at Koga every few minutes. Koga says nothing, staring down at his desk until they’re dismissed for PE. He’s on his feet the second Yuzuru slides the door shut behind him, not even waiting for his teacher to take a breath before he starts fumbling his words. 

 

“Look, I swear it was an accident. I-I would  _ never _ hit anyone that bad on purpose,” Koga pauses, then shoves his hands in his pockets. “Unless they deserved it, y’know? But- but Mika-kun didn’t do anything, and I was mad at Hakaze for skipping on this photoshoot we have comin’ up and shit- _ stuff _ , stuff- and not answerin’ me and Mika-kun was just. He was right  _ there,  _ man, and I-”

 

Koga stutters to a stop when his teacher raises a hand to silence him, looking a little less furious than he had when he initially told Koga to stay after class. “Look, I don’t think you did that on purpose. I’ve heard the stories of people who you’ve actually gotten into fights with, and I know you wouldn’t have stopped there.” Koga winces, but doesn’t disagree, mainly because he’s sure that if he interrupts his punishment will be much worse. “But you obviously did some damage, and to Kagehira’s face no less. Even you know how vital appearances are to an idol’s career.”

 

Shit.  _ Shit. _ “Yeah,” Koga says, looking down at his feet. “Yeah, I know.” He stands there under the weight of a disapproving look, almost squirming by the time the teacher sighs and starts to pack away his things. 

 

“Feeling sorry for yourself seems to be punishment enough, but I fully expect you to apologize to Kagehira.” He jogs a small stack of paper on the desk. “And you will be cleaning the classroom on your own after school for this week and the next, and you’ll be late to whatever you have planned.”

 

And after all the hell he’s given Kaoru for being late to practice… “Yeah, yeah.” Koga rakes a hand through his hair, going back to his desk for his bag once he’s waved off. The floor is completely clean where Mika had fallen over and dripped blood all over the place, but the slightly more shiny spot on the floor makes Koga’s stomach lurch with guilt. He really needs to go hard in PE today, maybe burn off this bad mood so he doesn’t break anything else. Maybe he’ll get lucky and they’ll just run laps all period and everyone will leave Koga alone.

 

Koga gets two steps out the door when someone hooks an arm through his, squeezing painfully tight. He yelps at the pressure, and looks to see Arashi grinning eerily at him. “Ko~ga-chan~,” He singsongs. “Walk with me, hm? We don’t want to be late for class, right?”

 

“Uh.” Was Arashi just listening out in the hall..? Waiting for Koga to come out of the room..?!

 

Arashi hauls him down the hall, uncaring for how Koga stumbles to keep up with his stride. “I mean, if Mika-chan were here, he wouldn’t want any of us to be late. He’s in the infirmary, by the way.” Uh. As if Koga isn’t aware of this.

 

Koga trips a little, and then almost falls when Arashi just keeps walking. “Jesus slow down,” he gripes, and then immediately softens when Arashi turns that chilling smile towards him again. “U-uhm. Is… is Mikarin okay?”

 

Arashi throws his head back to laugh, a hollow, fake sound. “Oh, where do you get off calling him  _ Mikarin _ ? You’re so funny, Koga-chan.” He flexes the arm hooked around Koga’s harder, somehow. “Y’know, in all the time I’ve known Mika-chan, he’s gotten hurt a lot.”

 

“Uh..?”

 

Arashi just keeps going, letting go of Koga’s arm once they reach the door to the gymnasium. Koga is about to hightail it out of there before Arashi grabs his wrist with enough strength that Koga is sure he just heard something pop in one of their hands. “He likes those cheap sour candies the best, and he’s messed his tongue up  _ soooo _ bad eating them, and he tells me he can’t even feel it! Just this morning he poked himself with his needle hard enough to bleed and he didn’t even notice. Have you ever poked yourself with a needle? It hurts, you know?” 

 

What the hell is Arashi even on right now? “Uhhhhh.” Koga says again, feeling more afraid as Arashi keeps going. 

 

“Last week, he was working on this thing, and he snipped his hand with sewing shears. Sewing shears! And he was only upset because he thought he bled on the costume or whatever it was. I don’t really remember. He told me last month he broke two of his toes and didn’t even notice until Itsuki pointed it out!”

 

“Is he  _ okay _ ?” Koga asks, completely exasperated. Arashi just stares at him, the fake smile dropping off his face in an instant. The two stand in silence, save for the hollers and the sounds of sneakers squeaking against the gym floor. Arashi tightens his grip, yanking Koga closer. 

 

“In all the time I’ve known Mika-chan, I have never--  _ ever --  _ seen him cry because something hurt so bad.” Perfectly manicured nails dig into Koga’s wrist. “You made him cry. You. Broke. His. Nose.” He digs his fingers in harder with each word, emphasizing with the painful pressure. “You are  _ soooo _ damn lucky I have an image to uphold here, or I would be kicking you across campus in a heartbeat.” He lets go of Koga’s wrist, and Koga yanks it back and rubs at his wrist. Arashi slips that scary smile back on seamlessly, and he opens the door to the gym. “Good thing you won’t be on my team in PE, huh?”

 

He leaves Koga standing there like an idiot in the doorway, and the rest of the second years pause in their stretches to stare at him. The PE teacher is having none of it, however, clapping his hands and shouting for Koga to get changed and get on his team for volleyball. 

 

Arashi may not be able to physically fight Koga, but he sure as hell makes up for it during PE. 

 

Of course he’s athletic, but Arashi usually tends to feign an injury to sit on the sidelines, or takes a more cheerleader type of approach when they separate off into teams. Today, however, he’s a force to be reckoned with. Any time he serves the ball, he slams it overhand directly at Koga, and Koga only manages to bump it wildly out of bounds if he isn’t hopping out of the way of a death missile. Despite the obvious way Arashi is targeting Koga, the PE teacher is raving on the sidelines, and Koga’s teammates bemoan how badly he’s sucking today. 

 

He’s directly across the net from Arashi near the end of the game, arms half-heartedly raised while he plays setter. Hokuto serves the ball over from Koga’s side, and Arashi barely waits for Souma to set it up for him before he jumps into the air and spikes it down directly into Koga’s face. 

 

Everyone winces as Koga falls flat on his ass, he can hear Subaru laughing until Mao hisses at him to  _ shut up _ , but Arashi feigns concern. “Oh, Koga-chan, are you okay?” He squats down under the net, tilting his head. “I hit you in the face kinda hard, oopsie.” The corners of Arashi’s mouth quirk up into that same frightening grimace of a smile. “Did I break your nose or something?”

 

Even with Koga sitting on the floor, the teacher is nearly in tears. His ugly bowlcut swishing around his forehead, thick eyebrows furrowed as he applauds furiously, congratulating Arashi on “such a beautiful display of the power of youth!” while he hops from foot to foot in his terrible green jumpsuit. He doesn’t even care when his orange leg warmers start to pool around his ankles with the exuberance of his tapping feet.

 

“I’m fine,  _ thanks _ .” Koga gets to his feet, rubbing at the tip of his nose where the ball had smacked him dead on. “Suck my dick, Narukami.” 

 

“Language, Oogami-sama!” Yuzuru calls from across the court, and then he easily catches the ball when Koga sneers and picks the ball up from the floor and rockets it at Yuzuru’s chest. “Also, excellent throw. Please be on my team for dodgeball next week.” He asks with a bow, and Koga wants to rip his own hair out. 

 

“As long as he’s not on my team~” Arashi gives Koga another one of those hollow smiles, rising out of his squat. “I want to keep this competitive streak up, y’know? It feels good to get my blood pumping sometimes.”

 

PE ends with a somehow more enthused speech from their teacher than usual, and a weirdly tense locker room. Everyone is talking quietly amongst themselves, pointedly leaving out Koga or sneaking looks at him. Even Adonis and Subaru are keeping their distance, but that probably has more to do with Koga’s even more potent resting bitch face today. Koga gets changed in record time, even beating Natsume who somehow manages to get into that stupid turtleneck at an inhuman pace every gym period, out of the locker room. 

 

He’s slightly sticky with sweat, and a quick whiff of his underarm on his way to the cafeteria for lunch makes Koga snarl at the floor. To top it all off, he had forgotten to put on deodorant this morning too. Awesome, now he smells as foul as his mood. Koga keeps his arms plastered to his sides to prevent anyone from being subjected to the perfume of sweaty teenage boy while they wait in line for food.

 

Going to lunch is  _ weird. _ Everyone seems to be staring at Koga, whether they’re being obvious about it or not. Two of Ryuseitai’s first years keep glancing over their shoulders at him while Koga stands in line, and they do this weird dance where they keep going back and forth between who stands between the other as the line creeps forward. Even  _ fine’s _ little brat raises his eyebrows at him before trotting off behind Eichi with his food. He doesn’t try to engage any of them, but the feeling of several eyes boring into him in rotation leaves Koga even more uncomfortable as the line shuffles forward.

 

Koga is just a few steps from some very much needed lunch when he feels a heavy hand come down onto his shoulder. He jumps at the contact, barely suppressing a pathetic shout before he whips around. Adonis is staring at him, letting his hand hover when Koga turns to face him. “God, dude,” Koga exhales loudly, hunching his shoulders up. “What the hell, Adonis? You scared the shit outta me.”

 

“Ah, sorry, Oogami.” Adonis lets his hand fall back to his side. “Narukami told me what happened this morning,” he starts, and Koga turns away from his friend with a huff. “It sounded serious.”

 

“I don’t wanna talk about it,” Koga says. “Just drop it, Adonis.”

 

“But did you actually hit him? I heard from Akehoshi that you kicked him, there’s blood on your shoe.”

 

Koga stiffens, and looks down at his shoes. Sure enough, there’s a smatter of red on the toe of his right shoe, where Mika’s blood had probably dripped on when he stood up to run to the infirmary. “I didn’t kick him, what the hell?” Koga says, trying to scuff the dried blood off with his other foot. “My chair hit him in the face.”

 

Adonis’s eyes go wide. “A chair? Oogami… Kagehira is so small though, why would you hit him with your chair?”

 

“It was an  _ accident _ .” Koga hisses, and the Ryuseitai first years both startle and shuffle forward quickly. Tetora slings his arm around Shinobu’s shoulders just as Shinobu does the same, but neither of them try to disentangle themselves even when they get several weird looks from Trickstar where they stand in a huddle in front of them in the line. “Drop it, Adonis. I don’t wanna fucking talk about it.”

 

“I… understand,” Adonis sighs, but settles with Koga when he knows there’s no point in trying to pursue it, especially in public like this. “We have a short meeting today,” Koga visibly relaxes when Adonis changes the subject. “Sakuma-senpai wants us to talk about the photoshoot coming up, and we need to come early tomorrow to be measured for the new uniforms.”

 

The line finally moves up enough that Koga can get his food, and he digs around in his pockets for his meal ticket. “I gotta clean the classroom after school’s out, I don’t know if I’m gonna make it.” He carefully straightens out the crumpled corner of the ticket before he hands it over. “Just make sure Hakaze is there, I’ll catch up tomorrow.” Koga takes the bento that’s given to him and looks up at Adonis. “Just… don’t believe anything you hear that isn’t from me, okay? This shit is getting out of hand way too fast.”

 

Koga doesn’t wait for Adonis to reply before he walks toward the exit of the cafeteria, planning on finding somewhere he can eat and wallow alone. He weaves his way through the end of the line, and he’s surprised when the entirety of Rab*its is giving him the same look everyone seems to be giving him, the unit of pipsqueaks frowning at him. Nazuna looks the most venomous out of them all, and he turns his nose up at him and widens his stance a touch when his first years huddle behind him to watch Koga leave. 

 

-

 

_ Slap. _

 

Koga starts when a binder slams down on his desk, and Arashi stands with his arms crossed before him. “You’re going to take this to Mika-chan.” 

 

Carefully, Koga opens the binder, looking down at the curly handwriting covering the notebook paper inside. Arashi had slipped his notes inside-- Koga doubts that he had actually taken two sets-- and the papers outlining today and tomorrow’s assignments are tucked into the pocket on the other side. 

 

“It’s not like I know where he lives.” Koga says, fixing Arashi with a look. “I gotta clean the room today, too, you should just give it to him.”

 

Arashi doesn’t budge. “ _ You _ are going to give it to him.” He says again. “And you’re going to apologize and  _ mean it _ .” Arashi flips open his bag where it’s hanging from his shoulder, fumbling a bit to open a notebook enough to tear a piece from a blank page. “This is Itsuki’s address, go there after you’re done and tell Mika-chan how sorry you are for hurting him.” He takes the pencil Koga had found on the ground during lunch to write down the address, and Koga doesn’t even protest when Arashi pockets the pencil before holding out the slip of paper. 

 

Koga takes it, glancing it over a few times before he pockets it. “Narukami…” Koga sighs, standing from his seat. “Look, it was an accident, I didn’t mean to-”

 

“I don’t give a shit.” Arashi crosses his arms again, straightening up even more to make the slight height difference between him and Koga more apparent. “I don’t care if your chair or whatever is haunted and it hurt him without you having anything to do with it.” He jabs his finger at Koga’s chest. “He’s hurt, and you’re the one who did it. Take some responsibility for once.” WIth that he turns and leaves Koga to the empty classroom, closing the door much harder than necessary. 

 

Koga deflates the second the door closes, and he looks down at the binder still sitting on his desk. He  _ really _ wishes that Mika didn’t have to live with Shu, he already has to deal with him tomorrow for their costume fitting, but there’s no telling what Shu will plan to do when he’s not being watched at school. Koga reaches into his pocket for his phone, frowning at his inbox when he opens it. 

 

Several people have texted him. Subaru has sent him a barrage of messages asking what had happened, and that everyone in 2A has definitely heard. That’s not surprising, Koga isn’t even sure how Shu had found out since he isn’t even on the same floor as Koga’s class, much less his year. Arashi had definitely blabbed to someone, and any information passed around a high school of terrible boys is going to get blown horrifically out of proportion. Koga taps on Mika’s contact in his inbox, but there are no new messages from him. Mika doesn’t even had read receipts on, so Koga has no idea if he had even looked at the messages Koga had sent him after PE. 

 

He scrolls back through their conversations, the latest being one that had gone well past midnight until Koga had fallen asleep after sending Mika several pictures of Leon looking ridiculous with his ears flipped inside out and his teeth showing as he slept against Koga’s side. 

  
  


**From: Mikarin**

**OHHHHHHH HES SO CUUTE ( ᵒ̴̶̷̥́ _ᵒ̴̶̷̣̥̀ )♡♡♡**

**I want a pet so bad hes so cute!!!!!**

 

**To: Mikarin**

**lolol he’d like you, come see him**

**we can take him for a walk or smthn?**

**whenever ur free**

 

**From: Mikarin**

**Subject: ▒▒▓█▇▅▂∩( ✧Д✧)∩▂▅▇█▓▒▒**

**omg really?**

**please i want to play with leon with u (´pq｀*)**

**can i bring him treats??? pls lets take him to the park**

  
  


Koga bites his lip and thinks about how Mika… probably never wants to talk to him or meet Leon ever now. He scrolls back down so he can send a new message, and it probably looks pathetic, but it seems like Mika won’t even read them anyway. He stares at his phone after the messages go through, waiting for some kind of answer, but the only messages he receives are more from Subaru that Koga can’t bring himself to read. 

 

Koga sets his phone down, defeated as he slowly works through cleaning the classroom. His phone pings just as he’s nearly done almost half an hour later, and he nearly drops the erasers he’s clapping clean out of the window in his haste to go check it. It isn’t from Mika, or even Subaru, but his father, a single text that simply reads “need 2 talk when u get home”. And well, Koga was dead anyway, a phone call from his parents couldn’t possibly make anything worse.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO as you can see this fic has another chapter to go instead of the original two bc i cant ever stop writing for some ungodly reason but the final chapter is in the works and fully planned so it's just a matter of me sitting down to write it. this chapter might be a bit slow but there's things that gotta be established
> 
> background ships this chapter specifically are natsumugi and kaoshu!

Koga stares at the ornate knocker on the ancient looking door of the Itsuki residence. He really shouldn't be expecting anything else considering it's Shu of all people, but he double checks the address Arashi had given him just to be sure he isn't accidentally about to hit up some old rich couple. The knocker is cool to the touch when he wraps his fingers around it and lets it come down gently against the door a few times. There's no immediate answer, and he shifts from foot to foot, adjusts the binder full of notes under his arm, and considers just leaving it at the doorstep when he hears the locks tumble and he ends up looking up at Shu.

 

He looks just as pissed off as he did earlier in the day, and Koga can definitely feel the “home-court advantage” vibe rolling off of him in waves. Koga feels like a complete idiot for being intimidated by a guy in a frilly shirt, but this is not Koga's turf. Shu stares at him, standing straighter when he realizes just who is at his door- the guy who broke his unitmate's  _ nose _ \- and he crosses his arms over his chest. Koga stares at him like an idiot until Shu raises an eyebrow and tilts his chin up just a touch.

 

With an even more awkward cough to clear his throat, Koga finally opens his mouth. “Is uh...” He adjusts the binder under his arm again. “Is Mika-kun... is Mika-kun here?”

 

“Well he does  _ live _ here,” Shu sneers, and Koga very honestly considers just dropping the binder and running away until he can see Mika peeking around the corner of the entryway. Mika makes a strangled little squawking sound before he quickly leans out of view, and Koga's shoulders slump even more.

 

“I uh, I brought the notes from what he missed from class.” Koga holds out the binder, trying to lean to the side to catch a glimpse of Mika again, but Shu takes a half step to keep him from peering into his home. “...can I talk to him?” Koga asks with a pathetic little sigh. “He hasn't texted me back or anything.”

 

Shu casts his eyes to the side where Mika is hiding, and Koga can hear the soft rustling of clothes and the soft pat of bare feet on hardwood floor. His brows furrow, and the look he gives Koga is even nastier than the one he had given him when Shu had hunted him down yesterday. “He's not interested.” Shu holds out his hand for the binder, nose still up in the air.

 

And now Koga feels a little more angry rather than scared, something akin to a cornered animal maybe, and he bares his teeth. “I'm pretty sure he has a working mouth and speaks Japanese,” he growls, but Shu doesn't even bat an eye, “he doesn't need someone to talk for him, asshole.”

 

“Well thank  _ goodness _ you didn't unleash your anger issues on the rest of his face.” Shu shifts just enough that Koga can see into his house again, and all of the bravado he had summed up fizzles out in his throat when he catches Mika's blue eye peering at him, the inner corner covered with a nasty bruise that's creeping down toward his cheek. Shu doesn't seem to notice Koga being able to look into his house once more-- or, more likely, he doesn't care -- and he simply wiggles the fingers on his outstretched hand. “Learn to use your words before you start going berserk, mongrel, and I’d like for you to finish your task so you can get out of my sight.”

 

Mika's visible eyebrow draws upward before he disappears behind the corner again. Koga can hear what sounds like his feet shuffling anxiously against the floor again and he musters up another glare for Shu as he holds the binder out a little further this time. It's ripped from his hand quickly, and Shu doesn't react when the sides of the binder catch at Koga's fingers enough to slice the skin. He hisses, pulling his hand to his chest and squeezing at his fingers to stop the stinging feeling. Koga opens his mouth to start hurling any insult he can manage, but Shu turns on his heel and slams the door in his face.

 

Koga stares at the door for a few seconds, the knocker just under the peephole swaying softly with the impact of the door being slammed. He sighs, looking down at his fingers to assess the damage. It's nothing more than a shallow slice, but blood still weeps slowly from the cut. He pulls the sleeve of his undershirt down over his uninjured hand to wipe at the blood, and he only considers knocking again for maybe half a second before he realizes Shu is more likely to call the police on him or something instead of just telling him to piss off. Koga turns away from the doorstep, feeling even more defeated than when Mika had hidden out of his line of sight.

 

Because even if Shu had been speaking for Mika, he was right there... and he obviously didn't want to talk to Koga at all. The bruising was nasty too, and Koga can't imagine what it looks like when half of his face isn't obscured by a wall. His fingers are throbbing a little, but he just applies more pressure to them as he slowly walks down the sidewalk. Maybe he should just cut them off at the knuckle to atone for  _ breaking Mika's goddamn nose _ or some shit. He could still strum with the tips of his fingers missing.

 

“This fucking blows.” Koga mutters to himself, but not quietly enough for the old woman taking her poofy little dog out to use the bathroom to ignore, and he only stands there with his head down as she wags her finger and lectures him about using such  _ language _ where anyone could hear it.

-

 

Mika's been watching through the peephole since Shu had huffily walked away from the door, being careful not to press his nose to the wood like he usually does. He feels terrible, watching Koga squeeze at his hand and look more down than Mika has ever seen him, and his hand hovers just above the door handle just as Koga turns and walks away.

 

“Don't bother with him, Kagehira.” Mika slumps, but turns away from the door when Shu speaks up. “Honestly, he should be suspended--  _ expelled _ would be better, actually.”

 

“I really do think it was an accident, Oshi-san.” Mika peers through the peephole one more time, but Koga has already left. With a sigh, he turns around and follows Shu’s voice to where he’s sitting at their kitchen table, flipping through the binder of notes quickly. If Koga was really angry with him, he wouldn’t have thought to bring what he had missed, right? Mika takes his seat across from Shu, and his heart sinks some when he recognizes the handwriting as Arashi’s instead of Koga’s. “I mean… I don’t think he woulda done this on purpose…”

 

“I don’t care what his intent was.” Shu pulls some of the worksheets from the pocket of the binder, thumbing through them and separating them by subject. “Your nose is broken, Kagehira, the damage is done regardless. I don’t appreciate his attitude, either.”

 

Mika crosses his arms to pillow his head when he rests it on the table, kicking his feet underneath. “That’s just how Koga-kun is,” he mumbles, watching Shu sort his homework with a whine. Had he really missed  _ this  _ much in two days? Their teacher must be trying to kill them, or maybe he’s just trying to pick on Koga in a way that isn’t obvious. Is this his punishment for missing class?? Or maybe it’s that one time he cheated off of Arashi during that one math test a few months ago and he got a way higher grade than he should have, and the teacher  _ had  _ to have noticed and now this is his time to pounce, and-

 

“Ah, Mika-chan, please don’t put your head down on the table like that,” Mademoiselle chides him gently from her tiny rocking chair placed on the table, her even smaller knitting project resting in her lap. Shu gives the rockers a soft tap with the tip of his finger so she can resume her rocking. “Please don’t hurt yourself further, Shu-kun would be so upset to see you hurting again.”

 

Mika whines again, but lifts his head from where he had dropped his forehead against the table. “Sorry, Mado-nee.” He taps at the spots near his nose where he knows the bruising is worse, but the sensation is more like extra pressure than pain, thankfully.

 

“If you keep poking yourself I will stitch your hands to your sides, Kagehira.”  Shu has finally finished fussing with the papers, only seeming half satisfied with his organization. “I don’t see why Narukami insisted on taking these notes, his handwriting is horrid. Isara would have been much more suited for this.”

 

Mademoiselle’s rocking starts to slow to a stop, and Shu gives her chair another tap. “But Mika-chan’s Naru-chan is a sweetheart, at least he doesn’t break Mika-chan’s bones for no reason, ufufu.”

 

“He does post such tasteless photos on his instagram, Mademoiselle. He’s on the road to becoming a very bad influence. Why does your tongue need to be out in every photo?”

 

“Ah, true, true I suppose. At least Rei-chan’s puppy has all of those cute pictures of little Leon on his accounts.” Mademoiselle tuts, and Shu adjusts her hands so she “continues” her knitting. “To see such a boy go so bad, especially to our Mika-chan. What a world we live in, eh Shu-kun?”

 

Mika frowns, drumming his fingers on the table. “‘M right here, yanno,” he puts his chin in his other hand, sinking down in his chair again. “I thought we were doin’ good, Mado-nee… we were talkin’ all the time ‘n Naru-chan even  _ said _ thing were lookin’ good too, and he’s been so nice to me.” Mika lets out a longer whine this time, and Shu kicks him gently under the table. “He said we could walk Leon together n’ that he’d show me his guitar, he even texted me the other day callin’ me  _ Mikariiiiiin _ .” Shu reaches out his hand just in time to keep Mika from slamming his forehead down on the table again.

 

“He didn’t even come up with that on his own, didn’t he steal that from Rei’s brother?” Shu pushes Mika’s head up, giving him a stern look when his head bobs downward for a moment. “I honestly have no idea why Oogami is the object of your affections. To think that you have such poor taste.”

 

“S’cuter when Koga-kun says it.” Mika’s cheeks heat up enough that he can feel the faintest throb from his nose, and he barely catches himself and his hands hover awkwardly in front of his face as he resists the urge to poke and prod. It’s not like Shu has any room to talk about who has poor taste in crushes, when all he does is have Mademoiselle talk for him when he tries to flirt back to Kaoru. Ugh, they’re such a mess, but at least Kaoru doesn’t throw chairs.  “He's real sweet, Oshi-san, I promise. But I don't know what I did t'make him so mad...” Mika sets his hands palm down on the table, examining the chips in his nail polish with a wobbling frown.

 

Shu watches him carefully when Mika isn’t paying attention to him, his shoulders dropping slightly seeing Mika look so defeated. He exhales quietly, leaving Mika to brood for a few moments. “Please don’t look so down, Mika-chan,” Mademoiselle pipes up again, bless her, “Shu-kun would be devastated if you worried yourself sick again, dearie.”

 

“Sorry, Mado-nee. I won’t, cross my heart.” Mika makes the motions over his chest weakly, and he thinks they all know that that’s mostly a lie, but Mika is at least going to try to keep his lunch down today. He watches the growing pile of papers in front of Shu, and feels sick again just looking at all the work. He groans, pushing his hands against his cheeks. “Why is there so muuuuch, Oshi-san,” Mika blows air from his mouth, and even the fart sound his lips make from being smushed together by his cheeks doesn’t make him feel any better. “I’m gonna  _ diiiiiiie _ .”

 

“Nonsense,” Shu says, thumbing through the work with a frown, “of course this wretched school can’t even be bothered to change the curriculum every year.” He reaches for Mademoiselle’s knitting, carefully doing a few tiny stitches to keep her up to pace. “Go get your supplies, I remember these assignments nearly verbatim.”

 

Mika perks immediately. Shu offering to help with homework..? Without Mika asking?! He stands up quickly, rushing over to the stairs and taking them two at a time to get to his room so he can grab his notebooks and a pencil from his bag. He opens the door to his room, going straight for his bag that’s laying on his bed when his phone catches his attention. 

 

The little light in the corner of his cracked screen blinks, and Mika’s hand hovers over his phone before he picks it up and unlocks it. There’s only one new message-- a picture of Nyanko Arashi had sent to cheer Mika on after a long conversation that  _ yes he’s okay, no please don’t fight Koga-kun please please _ and then several crying kaomojis from Mika when had finally taken a peek at the mountain of homework. 

 

There are a few unread messages from Koga that Mika’s thumb hovers over for a few moments. He takes a few moments to muster up the courage to finally press the chatlog after squeezing his eyes shut, taking his time in opening them to read the messages. 

 

**From: Koga-kun**

**Subject: im so sorry**

**oh my god are you okay**

**i didnt mean to i swear it was an accident**

 

**From: Koga-kun**

**Narukami told me i broke your nose what the fuck**

**im so so sorry**

**are you going to class tomorrow?**

 

Mika’s phone buzzes in his hands, and Mika nearly drops it onto the floor. It’s another text from Koga, and the words pop up on the screen before Mika has the chance to get anxious over reading them. 

 

**From: Koga-kun**

**Subject: hey**

**im sorry i made you cry**

**mikarin....**

**please talk to me**

 

Mika chews on his bottom lip, about to try and figure out some kind of reply when Shu calls for him downstairs. “Comin’, I’m comin’.” Mika hollers back, looking over the messages again before giving up with a sigh. He already has enough trouble talking face-to-face, and texting is new layer of hell he doesn’t really feel like stumbling into now. He sets his phone back on his bedside table, gathering up his supplies and tucking them under his arm before he trots down the stairs to start tackling the punishment of homework. 

 

-

 

Leon is just as excited as always when Koga steps through the front door, yapping and jumping around Koga's feet despite his owner's clear lack of enthusiasm as he kicks off his shoes and sweeps them against the wall with his foot. “Hey, hey.” Leon rears up onto his hind legs, paws resting on Koga's thighs so he can get a proper scratch behind the ears. Even if today has been nothing but shitty, there's no reason Koga should deny his best friend for welcoming him so warmly.

 

He calls his parents after taking Leon out for his afternoon potty break, phone sandwiched between his shoulder and his ear as he pours the kibbles into Leon’s bowl where the corgi whines excitedly for his meal. His father answers and sounds about as enthused as Koga could imagine him to be, telling Koga that Kunugi had left them a message about an  _ incident _ and asking Koga whether or not he had meant it when he promised his parents he was done fighting his classmates. 

 

(Without reason, of course.)

 

Koga eventually gets put on speaker so his mother can be part of the conversation as well, and he’s surprised that his parents seem to soften when he reiterates time and time again that he definitely hadn’t meant to hurt Mika, that he had tried to talk to him over text several times today and even face-to-face but with no luck. But even with Koga nearly in tears on the line, his parents don’t entirely budge on lecturing. Koga sits quietly on the counters of his tiny kitchen and only murmurs in response to the back and forth he gets from his mom and dad. 

 

“You do realize how easily you can get into  _ big _ trouble at this school?”

 

“Koga, we aren’t going to let you lose all of this hard work because of your temper.”

 

“You broke his _nose?_ _Oogami Koga--_ ”

 

Yeah, his mother really didn’t like that one at all. 

 

The call lasts for nearly two hours, and his parents seem to cool off once Koga tells them for the tenth time that he hadn’t meant to do this at all, and he has to sniff hard a few times to keep his emotions in check. But a lackluster scolding doesn’t lighten his mood at all, and his parents let him go after Koga promises again to apologize and to get this set straight. He hangs up the phone and presses the back of his hand under his nose until the burning stops, and Leon tilts his head inquisitively up at him. 

 

Once he composes himself, Koga decides he might as well take Leon for a walk and collect his thoughts further. Being cooped up in the house for such a long time makes Koga feel several different layers of guilt, and Leon’s immediate yapping as soon as Koga pulls his leash from the hook doesn’t give Koga the joy it usually gives him daily. He stuffs a few waste-bags in the pockets of his coat while trying to get Leon to sit so he can attach him to the leash for their adventure of the day. 

 

Thankfully, Koga’s path for the day’s walk is almost completely empty-- strange, but not unwelcome, he’d rather be a little weirded out about not seeing any of the regulars going down the sidewalks toward the little abandoned park that has plenty of spots for Leon to run wild in while Koga stays watch on top of one of the rickety old picnic tables. He takes the long way this time, both to let himself stew in his thoughts and to burn the excess energy that has Leon bobbling along just a few steps ahead of Koga. 

 

The park is just as empty as the path there, and Leon darts off to sniff around in a pile of leaves before he starts romping through them and snuffling at the piles. Koga takes his perch on top of the picnic table, sitting on the tabletop with his feet resting on the bench and his elbows on his knees. This is the place he had thought Mika would have liked to go with him before… everything. It’s a nice, quiet place, just empty enough to be comfortable and he knows Mika doesn’t do crowds very well. 

 

And it’s appropriately creepy, especially with the leaves starting to fall from the trees, but it’s pretty too. Does Mika like pretty and creepy things as much as he likes cute and creepy things? Koga heaves a sigh when he realizes that at this rate he’ll probably never know, and he’ll never get to bring Mika here on… a date? Should he be thinking about calling it a date? Just taking his dog somewhere to play? Koga woefully plucks some stray pieces of grass from his boots, and comes to terms with whether or not he could even call their previously planned excursion a date, there’s no way it’s happening now. 

 

The time gets away from him, on this picnic table in a forgotten park. Leon stays within sight and creeps ever closer as the sun starts to set, and he comes up to Koga’s feet panting like he’s run eighty miles. Which might not be too big of an exaggeration, since he had taken advantage of Koga’s absentmindedness and tumbled through more piles of leaves than the little corgi had known what to do with. He waits patiently for Koga to untangle his leash and clip it back onto his spiked collar, and Leon ambles along just a few steps behind Koga back home. 

 

It’s getting dark quickly, and Koga apologizes several times and makes promises of treats to Leon for having to pick up the pace when Leon is so clearly tired, but Koga would much rather get home before it’s pitch black and all he has to rely on are the street lamps that are poor excuses for light around here. Leon is panting wildly when they finally get inside the small apartment complex lobby, and the nightshift desk attendee coos at Leon and makes a few comments about “such a tired puppy” while fishing around in the little treat jar they keep out there for the pets of the apartment residents. 

 

The promise of a treat revives Leon from his spot where he had been laying on his belly, trying to cool down with help from the tile floor. He sits without Koga having to tell him to, tail shaking as he waits for the biscuit to be tossed into the air for him to catch. It’s a welcome distraction to Koga’s foul mood-- what else could make him happier than someone loving Leon? He thanks the attendant and pats around in his pockets for his room key while he waits for the elevator. Koga’s apartment is only on the second floor, but he can’t subject Leon to the stairs now. 

 

Leon trudges the few steps it takes for him to leave the doorway after Koga removes his leash and collar before he collapses onto the hardwood with a  _ whuff _ , his stubby back legs flat behind him as he lets the floor cool his belly. Koga, not one to let a good sploot go to waste, snaps a few pictures on his phone before he gushes his praise to his best friend, patting his fluffy butt before making his way to the kitchen to give him a fresh bowl of water. 

 

Living on his own is a godsend, with only having to worry about bothering the few neighbors he has on this floor instead of his mother’s impeccable hearing and his father’s early sleeping times, but the loneliness gets to Koga more often than he likes to admit, and with everything going on he desperately hopes for some kind of distraction to keep him from wallowing yet again.

 

He sets to work in the kitchen, tackling the few dishes that have piled up over the past few days, then makes a lackluster dinner that he only eats half of before he mixes some scraps into Leon’s kibbles to make good on his promises earlier. Once those chores are done, however, Koga can’t find anything else to properly distract him. His homework goes mostly untouched, but he tries to at least get a little more than half of it done. He runs out of lives much too quickly on the few games he has on his phone, and Leon is too tired from the extended time outside to do anything but climb his tiny stairs to get on Koga’s bed and scratch a little at Koga’s comforter before he lies down to sleep some more. Koga takes a few pictures to post on Leon’s instagram account, silently hoping to see Mika’s account pop up in the steady flow of notifications to no avail. 

 

Even his guitar can only hold him for a song or two before he gives up with a sigh and decides to turn in for the night even though it’s barely past eight. Maybe Rei is starting to brush off on him a little too much, making Koga feel so old and melancholy like some kind of asshole.

 

His texts to Mika are still unanswered, and the 2B group message is silent. Koga has long since turned his phone on silent to ignore the messages he’s still getting asking if things had  _ really _ gone like this, and did he  _ really _ do this. There are even a few unknown numbers that are asking him the same questions or making threats on varying levels. Koga puts his phone on airplane mode then and sets it to charge with a frown.

 

Koga showers, wakes Leon from where he’s sleeping on Koga’s bed to take him outside one last time, and loads up some cheesy action movie on his laptop to keep the silence of his small room at bay, but he doesn’t pay attention to it at all. The light from the laptop and the dim screen of Koga’s phone keep him up for another hour, and Koga gives up any hope to see anything at all from Mika and shoves his phone under his pillow. Leon lifts his head at the angry huff from his owner and the sound of a dog barking from the movie, and he wiggles and flops his way up closer to Koga’s chest, nosing his way under his arms and cuddling up to him with a sleepy whuff. 

 

“This fuckin’ sucks, Leon,” Koga mutters into Leon’s fur, burying his face in his neck uncaring for the shedding hairs that tickle his nose and scatter dangerously close to his mouth, “what am I s’posed to do, dude?”

 

In reply, Leon just snores, but he allows himself to be used as a pillow for most of the night. 

 

-

 

Koga wakes up the next day determined to talk to Mika, no matter what. He had gotten slightly more sleep than the day prior, he finds some eggs in the fridge for breakfast so he doesn’t have to shove another hell waffle down his throat, and Leon’s morning potty break goes off without a hitch. He showers, puts on more than enough deodorant, and makes it to the subway on his usual time and gets his usual spot far away from anyone wearing any kind of nasty perfume. 

 

His plan is relatively simple: he has to get to the school early and to the handicrafts club room, where Mika should be, and he can take him to the side before the fitting or maybe walk with him to class after and explain the situation. Mika is probably going to be skeptical, maybe he’ll be kind of afraid (the thought of Mika being afraid of him makes Koga wither) but this isn’t Koga’s first time trying to coax something like a terrified animal out of it’s corner, and if he can get through the puppy days with Leon being terrified during the stormy seasons then he sure as hell can handle this. Maybe he should have bought some candy or something, but he settles on grabbing the same kind of coffee Mika had brought to class the other day before he gets to the clubroom. 

 

Coffee secured in his bag, Koga quickly makes his way towards the clubroom, knowing that his trip to vending is going to make him the slightest bit late. Not like it’s anything major, a couple minutes behind is nothing compared to Kaoru’s poor excuse for attendance. The blinds to the handicrafts room are cracked just enough that Koga can see inside. Tsumugi is at the table closest to the far windows looking out over the school courtyards, talking to Natsume where he’s perched on the edge of the table. Adonis is closer to the window in the hallway that Koga is looking into, hands in his pockets as he looks down at something, but a head of messy dark hair catches Koga’s attention, and he nearly rips the door open at the potential to see Mika. Mika’s name dies in his throat, however, when the head lifts and it’s just Rei looking over some sketches with Shu. 

 

“Ah, you made it, Wanko,” Rei’s sleepy eyes crinkle when he smiles and flops a hand in greeting, “I was almost afraid I’d have to send Adonis-kun after you.” Rei and Adonis seem to be the only ones who aren’t heinously offended by Koga’s presence, with Natsume sneering at him from his perch and Shu’s withering gaze. Even Tsumugi seems pissed off that Koga is in the same room as him. 

 

Koga deflates, and the way Shu glares at him makes him want to sink into the floor. “Uh… no, I’m here.” Nevermind that Kaoru isn’t here yet, but he’s a different story.

 

“Unfortunately.” Shu doesn’t waver in his glare when Koga purses his lips at him. “Kagehira is at home resting, if you nearly ripped that door off its hinge because you thought you would see him here.”

 

“Now, now, be nice, Itsuki-kun. Let me scold my own children.” Rei gives Shu’s hand a soft pat where it rests by the neat sketches. “Speaking of my dear children, where is Kaoru-kun? He said he would be here when we spoke yesterday.”

 

Speak of the devil, the door to the clubroom opens and Kaoru shuffles inside, failing to conceal a massive yawn behind his hand. “I’m here, I’m here,” he scrubs at one of his eyes, “I hate getting up this early, couldn’t we do this after school?”

 

“We have  _ other _ obligations after school, Kaoru-kun.” Rei gives Koga a look that reminds Koga way too much of his own father, what the hell. “Itsuki-kun has to get home to his little bird, anyhow.”

 

Shu caps the pen he had been using and sets it next to the costume sketches carefully spaced out on the table. “He has a rather nasty habit of making himself sick over things that don’t matter,” he casts a glance at Koga, as if he isn’t aware that Shu is most definitely talking shit. “You know how much I detest even having to think about vomit, Rei.”

 

Shu should  _ not _ look so proud of himself for the way Koga knows he looks right now, knowing that making Mika physically ill has to be added to his list of bad deeds now. Rei, at least, looks a little miffed at the way Shu is treating his “kid” and brings his hands together in front of him. “Yes, yes, we all know very well. Let’s get this over with then, shall we? Take your mind off of such things.”

 

But Rei doesn’t even move to stand where Shu starts to usher the rest of UNDEAD in a line, and instead he drapes himself over the table uncaring for the sketches and even Tsumugi when he quietly asks Rei to move “ah, just a touch?” so he can help Shu out. 

 

“Are you not going to be measured, Sakuma-senpai?” Adonis asks, arms stretched out while Shu stands behind him and stretches his measuring tape across his wingspan. 

 

Rei yawns and settles his chin on top of the back of one hand, the other lazily twisting a lock of his hair. “Itsuki-kun has taken my measurements so many times he basically has them memorized at this point.”

 

Shu’s phone blips along with the keys being tapped quietly while he enters the numbers for Adonis into the notes. “And even if I didn’t, they’re in several notebooks I have saved over the years.” Adonis lets his arms drop mostly, standing perfectly still as Shu wraps the tape around his chest. Shu cocks an eyebrow, looking rather amazed at the little number the edge of the tape ends at. “Good lord, child, you are  _ stout _ .”

 

“A healthy diet of meat does the body wonders, Itsuki-senpai.”

 

“... Fascinating.”

 

Tsumugi’s hands prodding just a little too roughly at Koga’s spine tear him out of the shared look of “what the fuck, dude” he’s sharing with Kaoru, and he rocks slightly on his feet at the unexpected pressure. “Stand up straighter, please.” Tsumugi says, sounding strangely cold where he stands behind Koga. His thumbs press even harder against Koga’s shoulders when he holds the tape up, and Koga tries not to fidget when Tsumugi starts to press into pressure points that sting wildly. 

 

Adonis is already done by the time Tsumugi makes his way to Koga’s front, his usually slumped posture gone as he tilts his nose up at Koga even though they’re nearly the same height. He doesn’t say anything when Koga also straightens up even more, somehow finding maybe another centimeter in his refusal to back down. “Hold this on your inner thigh,” Tsumugi hands him the end of the tape, and then crouches down to take Koga’s inseam, “higher than that.” The request is accompanied with a very tired sounding sigh, like Koga has any idea how anything like this works. He’s a  _ rockstar _ , not a tailor. 

 

Koga huffs, but complies and brings the end of the tape closer to the join of his thigh, very pleased that Tsumugi is  _ not _ holding his hand  _ right there _ . Tsumugi is weird enough on a good day, but this stoic kind of coldness has Koga’s hair standing on end. Why does he smell like Koga’s grandfather?

 

Shu is in the same position in front of Kaoru, and Rei looks even more tired than usual somehow with how red both of them are in the face. “Very nice, very nice,” Shu murmurs to himself as he takes down the measurement of Kaoru’s inseam, letting the bright blue tape fall into his hands when Kaoru drops it from his inner thigh like it’s burning his flesh. The tape wraps around Kaoru’s thigh just as Tsumugi makes some comment on Koga’s inseam being “such an unlucky number” like that’s some kind of real insult. “Ah, and a perfect thigh circumference too, Hakaze. Splendid,” he turns to Rei then and seems oblivious to the way his fellow Oddball is visibly near death, “have you considered shorts instead of pants? Those could easily fit the image as well.”

 

Kaoru is flushed down to his neck now, but he seems to be brimming with the praise. “Eh? Whaddya think, Sakuma-san?” He turns his foot at the ankle, kicking out his leg daintily. 

 

“I’d soon rather die, please stop your poor attempts at flirting and get this over with before I pass away right here.” Rei inspects the ends of a lock of hair he has twisted around his fingers while Koga snorts at the way Shu nearly falls over and Kaoru very quickly retracts his foot. “You have weird knees, Kaoru-kun.”

 

“I do  _ not! _ ” Kaoru denies, but he turns in such a way that his knees are no longer facing Rei even though he’s wearing pants, “we agreed that you’re the one with the weird knees, Sakuma-san.”

 

Rei looks to Adonis, then to Koga, seeming somewhat pleased that his underlings are both looking appropriately confused at the exchange. Such good kids. At least Adonis is. “Come now, let’s wrap this up,” Rei sighs and rises to his feet, “the children have class and these old bones need a rest.”

 

Shu grits his teeth and brushes imaginary dust from his legs after he rises from his spot kneeling on the floor. “We could have been done  _ much _ earlier without your meddling, and if Aoba would stop taking his sweet time.”

 

Tsumugi scribbles his last note on the pad he’s been recording Koga’s measurements on, clicking the red pen and putting it in his pocket. “Sorry, sorry, Oogami-kun isn’t very good at standing still. He made my job pretty difficult.”

 

“I was standing completely still the whole time!!” Koga quips, but no one is paying attention to him. Adonis is at least nice enough to hand Koga his bag, but Natsume slides down from his spot on Tsumugi’s table and strides quickly between them just as Koga reaches for the strap of his bag.  

 

“Ah, Sakasaki, you’re coming to class today?” Adonis asks, but Natsume ignores him to grab Koga by his tie, yanking him down until their faces are maybe an inch apart. 

 

Koga has never been so glad that he could care less for the dress code, because the grip that Natsume has on his loose fitting tie would probably choke him out if he was wearing it properly with the way he tugs on it just right to tighten the loop. He opens his mouth to ask Natsume what the hell he’s trying to do right now, but then Natsume’s bright yellow eyes catch the light in the most unsettling way, and Koga feels sweat bead on the back of his neck when he  _ swears _ that Natsume’s necklace hovers up and away from where it rests low on his chest. He  _ hisses _ , honest to god hisses Koga is pretty sure, and then words start flowing from his mouth in the strangest tone Koga has ever had the displeasure of hearing. 

 

_ “Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.” _

 

“H-hey, Sakasaki, what..?” Koga whimpers, but Natsume doesn’t stop the low, unsettlingly melodic whispering. 

 

_ “Suspendisse molestie velit euismod ornare feugiat. Phasellus mattis lorem non sem condimentum, nec consectetur enim egestas,”  _ Natsume pulls harder on Koga’s tie, his voice rising in volume, and Koga is  _ so _ very glad that he had used the bathroom before coming to school. The yanking on his tie pulls Koga’s face even closer to Natsume’s, and the other boy’s eyes are most definitely too bright to be normal.  _ “Nullam rutrum ex est,  _ _ in rutrum sapien efficitur non. Aenean quis finibus-” _

 

Koga shrieks, not even chancing a look over his shoulder when Natsume loosens his hold just enough for Koga to stumble backwards and tear down the hallway as fast as he can, pleading at the top of his lungs for someone to help him lift this curse. Natsume’s smile is catlike as he watches Koga flee, and Rei lazily blinks after his kid running with his tail between his legs before he turns to Natsume with his brows furrowed. 

 

“Did you just quote the  _ Lorem Ipsum _ to make him think you cursed him?”

 

Natsume puffs up, hands firmly placed on his hips. “He isn’t worth any real use of my magic, Anyway.” Even Tsumugi looks proud when he comes up to Natsume, looking even more delighted when Natsume allows him to hold out his blazer while he puts it back on to go to class. “Karma is more powerful than even my Mother.” He fiddles with the cuffs of his blazer, so pleased with his little game that he even smiles at Tsumugi and accepts his boyfriend’s offer to walk him to class. 

 

_ Such a delightful child _ , Shu thinks, reaching to ruffle Natsume’s hair as he strides past him with his arm linked through Tsumugi’s. 

 

-

Nobody seems to pay any mind to Koga when he tears into the classroom panting and slamming his back into the door when he slams it closed behind him. Ritsu and Arashi look up from where they’re huddling around Arashi’s desk-- Ritsu sitting in Mika’s seat nearly gives Koga another heart attack even though he had just been told that Mika isn’t here today --  and Yuzuru heaves a sigh and seems to already be giving up on trying to scold Koga for the day. It’s still early enough that Mao is probably in a student council meeting, and Koga is shocked to see Ritsu awake without Mao prodding him. 

 

“Are you ever not noisy?” Arashi drawls, sitting sideways in his chair with his elbow resting on Mika’s desk. Ritsu yawns, but gives Koga a cheshire grin while he twirls some of his hair around his finger. 

 

“Don’t you know, Natchan? Corgis are always yappy little things,” Koga decides against trying to school Ritsu on his clear lack of understanding on the superior dog breed and gives him the finger before plopping down in his desk instead. 

 

Arashi hums loudly, shifting in his seat until he catches Koga’s attention before he turns up the brightness on his phone to the highest setting. “So, before I was so  _ rudely _ interrupted,” he huffs, “that girl I followed on insta? She posted this super cute thing the other day, what was it…” Instead of going into the app, however, Koga watches silently as Arashi goes into his settings and cranks the text size of his phone up until the screen is nearly filled with only portions of words. “Aw, boo, I can’t remember, and I wanted to get one, too.”

 

Ritsu tilts his head, still twirling a lock of hair as he pretends to be clueless along with Arashi. He keeps glancing over at Koga, and doesn’t try to contain his smile. “Is the girl who has all the Hello Kitty guns? Or the flowery brass knuckles?”

 

“No, no, it’s another one,” Arashi opens up his browser, and Koga withers when he sees that Arashi has a page open titled  _ The Pros to Neutering _ that he keeps on the screen just a little too long before he swipes it away and opens a new tab to get on Amazon. “Oh! Oh, I remember now, lemme see if I can find one.”

 

With the brightness up so high and the text so large, and the way Arashi is obviously holding his phone just so Koga can see it, Koga can easily watch as Arashi starts typing in the search bar for knives--  _ fucking knives -- _ and he slowly scrolls through the results. Arashi points to one, a butterfly knife with a rainbow chrome finish. “It was like this! Isn’t it, like, super cute? Maybe I should get into collecting.”

 

Ritsu leans in, zooming in on the knife with a hum. “I saw the one she posted, too, but I think it was way bigger Natchan, you should look for machetes.”

 

“If I may,” Yuzuru butts in, and Koga hopes against hope that maybe he’s going to call them out on some kind innapropriate behavior or something, “make sure you purchase one made with stainless steel, it’s really quite something.”

 

Of course, Koga turns away from the three with a sneer and vows to keep his eyes glued to his phone until class actually starts, and he switches between tabs on how to lift curses and ways to apologize for being a complete dumbass to the boy you’re furiously crushing on. 

**Author's Note:**

> might guy is the pe teacher


End file.
